Chapter 25: Chapter 025: Never Dare Again
Translator: 549690339
Li Fang was upset about those two coins, but if this matter got out of hand, not to mention two coins, he’d lose a day’s wages. Given Chef Zhang s temperament, it was quite possible he’d convince the shop manager to kick him out. Hence, he reluctantly took out the two coins.
“Here. Are you happy with those two coins now?” Li Fang’s face flushed red as he returned the money to Zhuang Qingning.
Zhuang Qingning accepted the two coins, but still held out her hand: “You still owe me one coin. That’s the price for a pound of tofu.”
“Take it!” Li Fang forced the word through gritted teeth, throwing the coin into Zhuang Qingning’s hand.
Having collected back her money without giving up a single coin, Zhuang Qingning didn’t wish to engage any further with this dishonest man. She simply turned and walked away.
Fearing how much trouble this incident could cause him, Li Fang didn’t dare make a fuss, simply gritting his teeth and staring at Zhuang Qingning’s retreating figure. Only after she left did he angrily spit on the ground.
“Damn it! What kind of person is that? A mere girl, pleading for help but still acting so sanctimoniously! I must have been really unlucky to get duped by you.”
You’re the one who started by being dishonest, not delivering what was paid for but instead trying to deceive again. You are wicked and unashamed, not fearing heavenly retribution. 1 hope you get struck by lightning!
Ma Tong, who was standing on the side, merely smirked, choosing not to say anything out loud.
Feng Yongkang, who had been watching silently, finally stood up with a stern face: “It’s high time someone did something about it.”
“Sh… Shop manager.” Li Fang recognized Feng Yongkang. His neck shrivelled, producing a small tremor in his voice.
“I used to think you were honest and industrious, attentive and active a good worker. 1 never thought you would stoop to such deceit.
Feng Yongkang rebuked: “You dare cheat a young tofu seller like this. 1 wonder how many lies you’ve told and how much money you’ve swindled in the past?”
“Manager, 1 am wrongly accused! I have never taken an extra coin from the customers before, and I have never done anything bad. This time… this time… this time was just a moment of blindness…”
Li Fang, who was both frightened and anxious, was close to tears: “Manager, I swear this is the first and the last time. I have always been honest. You know me, 1 am not the kind of person who takes unfair advantage…”
Pleading for his sincerity, Li Fang sank to his knees.
Li Fang had been working underneath him for a while, and Yongkang was quite satisfied with him till now. Seeing him regretful, Yongkang didn’t pursue the matter further and just coldly said, “Well, I don’t think you’ll dare to do something like this again. Get up.”
“Thank you, manager.” Li Fang quickly got up, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
“Even though 1 told you to rise, you must be punished for tarnishing the reputation of Fushun Tower. If people saw what happened, they might think we’re a bunch of swindlers. There has to be a penalty.”
Feng Yongkang said: “Considering that it’s your first offense and that you seem remorseful, you’ll be fined five days’ wages. This should serve as a lesson to you and also a warning to others about what can and cannot be done.”
Five days’ wages, thirty coins in total, can buy half a bag of rice!
Hearing this, Li Fang was extremely upset. However, upon reflecting, losing thirty coins was far better than being unemployed, and thus he quickly agreed, “Yes, I understand, manager. 1 promise, it won’t happen again.”
“Hmm.” Seeing this, Feng Yongkang didn’t say anything more. He turned and walked back to the backyard.
Li Fang watched him lift the curtain and disappear from view before he finally relaxed.
But soon enough, his stomach filled with resentment.
Those thirty coins!
From early morning, I’ve just lost thirty coins for nothing! When it’s time to hand over the wages to the family, 1 will inevitably be reprimanded for my foolishness and irresponsibility,” thought Li Fang.
Thinking of this gave Li Fang a headache, and whenever he saw the tofu stall in the distance, he saw red.
You little wretch! You’ve made me suffer so much, just you wait, 1 will show you how one learns to be humble!
Li Fang spat heavily on the ground.
After Zhuang Qingsui had finished serving the tofu to the customers, she looked at the returning Zhuang Qingning, who, out of concern, had a grim expression on her face: “Sister, are you ok? Was there a problem with selling tofu in Fushun Tower?”
“Yes.” Zhuang Qingning nodded, then related the whole incident to Zhuang Qingsui.
“What a shop attendant with such a black heart! Not only does he take the money and refuse to do the job, but he also plans to cheat people?” Mrs. Liu, upon hearing about it, became enormously aggrieved by the incident: “Fushun l ower is really insufferable, even allowing its employees to act like this.”
“From now on, we need to tell everyone, no one should eat at Fushun Tower anymore, otherwise they might lose their money!”
“Old lady, you shouldn’t lose your temper.” Zhuang Qingning hurriedly tried to pacify Mrs. Liu: “The blame should lie with that one shop attendant and not the entire tower. If we go around saying this, people will think we re exaggerating.”
“Besides, the incident occurred when no one was around. Fushun Tower has a longstanding reputation and connections within the town. If they want to take sides, they already know what to do. If a dispute were to arise, people might accuse us of deliberately trying to smear the reputation of Fushun Tower. Even though we may have countless words, we might not be able to clear our names.”
The most important factor was that she didn’t want Mrs. Liu to get embroiled in this mess. It would inevitably affect her fried chop rice cake business in town. Zhuang Qingning didn’t want to place such troubles on the alway supportive Mrs. Liu’s shoulders.
“Furthermore, I’ve taken my money and tofu back, so there’s no loss. Let’s just take this mishap as an extra effort to sell a pound of tofu.”
“You’re right…” After hearing Zhuang Qingning’s explanation, Mrs. Liu agreed: “Maybe you’re right about this. Let’s just leave things as is.”
In any case, whether they told anyone or not, their family would certainly not eat at Fushun Tower anymore from now on.
Zhuang Qingning laughed, then continued to sell her tofu.
The unpleasant event was like a stone falling into a calm lake, creating ripples. But soon the ripples faded, and the surface of the lake became calm again.
Everyone busily resumed what they were doing, having already forgotten about the previous incident.
However, Zhuang Qingsui still had a worried expression and a furrowed brow.
“What’s wrong with you?’1 Seeing her like this, Zhuang Qingning reached out to gently pat her on the head..
